Two-part adapter



Sept. 15, 1959 F. R. PERSON TWO-PART ADAPTER Filed Aug. 31, 1955 /NVE/VTOR.' FRANK R. PERSON,

his Attorney.

United States Patent TWO-PART ADAPTER Frank R. Person, New Haven, Conn., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application August 31, 1955, Serial No. 531,763

3 Claims. (Cl. 24-123) This invention relates to a two-part adapter and more particularly to an adapter for supporting ropes having a button at each end which may be bent to provide a sling. In most instances, wire rope slings require fittings which must be discarded when the rope becomes worn and/or require splicing of the ends of the rope, this latter being an expensive operation.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a rope adapter which can be reused and which does not require any splicing of the rope.

This and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the two-part adapter of my invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the adapter of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the adapter of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the adapter of Figure 1 with parts cut away and the ropes in place.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2 indicates the adapter of my invention. The adapter 2 includes two side plates 4 which are fastened together in spaced apart relationship. Each of the side plates 4 includes a substantially vertical upper portion 6 and an outwardly flaring lower portion 8. Each of the plates 4 has a block of material mounted on the outer side of the vertical portion 6 and forming a pair of sleeve portions 10. The sleeve portions 10 extend upwardly toward each other and each sleeve portion has a socket 12 at its upper end with a bottom abutment 14 as best shown in Figure 4. A slot 16 extends the length of the sleeve. A spacer 18 having a groove 20 therein is [provided between the vertical portions 6. The spacer and vertical portions 6 have aligned openings for receiving a bolt 22. The sleeve portions 10 may be integrally cast or forged with the vertical portion 6 or they may be formed in pairs as shown in Figure 4 and welded to the vertical portion 6. Each of the outwardly flaring lower portions 8 is provided with a boss 24 on its outer side in order to provide a vertical wall 26. Aligned openings are pro vided through the bosses 24 of each plate for receiving a bolt 28. If desired, a spacer 30 may be provided between the fiared portions 8. Openings 32 are provided in the flared portion in line with the sockets 12.

In assembly, a lifting ring 34 may be passed around the spacer 18 and received in the groove 20 as shown in Figure 4. The two parts 4 are then united by means of the bolts 22 and 28 and the nuts 22N and 28N threaded thereon. A pair of wire ropes 36 having a button 38 swaged on each end are passed through the holes 32 of each plate 4 and the buttons 38 received in the sockets 12 and pulled downwardly until the buttons 38 are engaged by the abutments 14. The slots 16 permit passage of the rope 36. In this manner a two-part sling is provided in which the adapter can be reused when either one or both of the ropes become worn. Thus it is seen that the adapter consists of a pair of members each icluding a plate portion and a block of material at the upper end thereof with each block having a pair of downwardly 2,903,768 Patented Sept. 15, 1959 diverging apertures 12 formed longitudinally therethrough and longitudinally extending slots 16 formed therein from the exterior side surface thereof communicating with the apertures throughout their length. The apertures are counterbored from their upper ends to a point adjacent the lower ends to provide an abutment 14 against which the buttons 38 bear. The adapter can also be used to connect ropes having a button on one end for any purpose desired. The two plates 4 may be connected in ways other than that shown.

,While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A two-part sling adapter for supporting ropes having a button at each end comprising a pair of side plates, each of said side plates having a substantially vertical upper portion, means connecting said plates in spaced apart parallel relationship, each of said side plates having a block of material mounted thereon, said blocks having a pair of downwardly diverging apertures formed longitudinally therethrough and having longitudinally extending slots formed therein from the exterior side surface thereof communicating with said apertures throughout their length, said apertures being counterbored from the upper ends of the blocks to a point adjacent the lower ends thereof to provide an abutment against which the buttons at each end of the ropes may bear.

2. A two-part sling adapter for supporting ropes having a button at each end comprising a pair of side plates, each of said side plates having a substantially vertical upper portion and an outwardly flaring lower portion, a spacer between said vertical portions, means extending between and connecting said vertical portions, each of said side plates having a block of material mounted thereon, said iblocks having a pair of downwardly diverging apertures formed longitudinally therethrough and having longitudinally extending slots formed therein from the exterior side surface thereof communicating with said apertures throughout their length, said apertures being counterbored from the upper ends of the blocks to a point adjacent the lower ends thereof to provide an abutment against which the buttons at each end of the ropes may bear, each of said flaring lower portions having holes therein aligned with said apertures, and means extending between and connecting said flaring lower portions to one another.

3. A two-part sling adapter [for supporting ropes having a button at each end comprising a pair of opposed members, each of said members having a pair of apertures formed longitudinally therethrough diverging from a first end to the second end of said member and having longitudinally extending slots formed therein from the exterior side surface thereof communicating with said apertures throughout their length, said apertures being counterbored from the said first end thererof to provide an abutment against which the buttons at each of the ropes may bear, means connecting said opposed members adjacent their said first ends, each of said members having an outwardly flaring portion extending from its said second end, and each of said flaring portions having holes therein aligned with said apertures.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 573,248 Thompson Dec. 13, 1896 1,380,800 Haworth June 7, 1921 1,656,676 Mills Jan. 17, 1928 1,708,881 Hartman Apr. 9, 1929 2,649,319 Gledhill Aug. 18, 1953 2,669,761 Hower et a1 Feb. 23, 1954 

